Kolkata: Gold, drugs, alcohol and various goods worth around ₹ 140 crore and more than ₹ 7 crore in cash were seized in West Bengal since the dates for the Lok Sabha polls were announced this month, an officer said Saturday.

According to data released by the Election Commission, the amount of cash seized till Saturday was around ₹ 7.87 crore.

The EC also seized 12.7 lakh litres of alcohol with a market value of ₹ 33.86 crore, he added.

"Drugs weighing around 3.5 kg worth ₹ 18.28 crore were also seized," he said.

The poll body also seized the yellow metal worth ₹ 27.32 crore during this period, the official said.

"So far, we have also seized goods worth around ₹ 36 crore and the total seizure is worth ₹ 147.19 crore, including unaccounted cash," he added.

There has been a trend of offering money and alcohol to buy votes for several years.

The Election Commission has declared six Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal as 'financially sensitive'.

Meanwhile, the Kolkata Police, during a naka checking in Jorabagan area in the northern part of the city on Friday, seized around 15 kg of gold bars worth ₹ 82 lakh and arrested five people who were travelling in a vehicle, an officer said.

An initial investigation revealed that the gold bars were smuggled from neighbouring Bangladesh through the border area of North 24 Parganas district, he added.

"It seems that these gold bars were smuggled through the Bangladesh border. We are trying to find out whether the consignment was meant for any agent belonging to any gold smuggling racket in Kolkata or not," he added.